The Past Repeats Itself
by OtterOuji
Summary: Four years after Pyrrha's disappearance she returns to the love of her life with child in tow only to find that she isn't the only one with a big surprise. Now Pyrrha and Jaune must learn to live together with all the changes that occurred in each other's lives. Story mainly Arkos and Lancaster ships.
1. Chapter 1 Reunion

Author Notes:

Welcome readers new and old. As a warning I know this chapter got away from me and is really long. I considered splitting it up but since it was all ready to go and didn't feel whole when separated I hope you'll all bare with the length. I can promise the following chapters won't be nearly as long. I do have a fair amount of the story planned out so it's just finding time to sit down and write. This story has a lot of angst, but a lot of fun times too.

This story started as a typo when talking to a friend about story ideas and I just had to write it. The very talented boopingsloth on has helped me with writing this and I highly recommend following her or at least checking out some of her stories.

u/6943541/boopingsloth

I'd also like to thank the youtuber LeeandLie, who's music helped me thought a majority of the writing.

user/LeeandLie

For an extra kick in the feels listen to "Home" by Jeff Williams from the RWBY Vol 4 soundtrack. Enough of my talking; I hope you enjoy the story.

/

Ch1 Reunion

It had been more than four years since Pyrrha had gone off on her 'simple' secret mission to the southern end of the continent of Sanus. Both her and Jaune knew that the signal from the CCT would be quite weak in that area and that communication would be tough, but Pyrrha was a professional Huntress and Jaune knew she would be fine. It had been a year since their graduation from Beacon Academy and everybody going their separate ways to make a difference in the world. Of course some had stuck together and others were inseparable. In the two years since Pyrrha left on her mission there had been no contact from or word of the gallant warrior, and the brave knight had lost hope. Having accepted the worst, it was understandable when the blond man found himself frozen with shock two years later at the sudden embrace he found himself in, lips pressed deep into his own.

Red filled his vision, as the woman's embrace grew tighter by the second. Her fingers tangling themselves in his hair, begging him not to end their breathless kiss any time soon. The intimate moment was quickly broken by a small cough coming from the open doorway, which tore the woman's attention away from the object of her affections. Finally the two put some distance between their bodies, though her arms remained encircled around his neck. With eyes darting between the two figures Jaune was finally able to speak.

"Pyrrha, you're – I mean, I thought – How - . . . Who is that?"

Jaune was referring to a small child standing in his doorway. A young girl quietly stood with her hands held in her lap staring at the two. A grey beanie covered her golden hair that was tied into a ponytail at the base of her neck. A grey t-shirt and brown shorts, obviously a size too big for the child, covered the rest of her form. Emerald green eyes poked out from behind the girl's bangs as she looked up from the floor to Pyrrha, then to Jaune, and back again to the floor. Pyrrha walked over to her, got down on one knee and wrap her arm around the quite girl. After whispering an inaudible phrase to the tiny blond, Pyrrha made eye contact with Jaune and radiating the warmest of smiles she introduced the two to each other.

"Jaune, I'd like you to meet Citrine. Citrine sweetie say hello." The little girl did not speak but only made eye contact with Jaune before nodding her head then resuming her staring contest with the floor. "Citrine is, well . . . she is my daughter."

The news hit him like a charging boarbatustk, nearly knocking Jaune off his feet. But if Pyrrha's sudden return from the dead and introduction to her daughter hadn't removed the strength from his legs then her next words were sure to. Before Jaune could congratulate her, Pyrrha continued.

"And Jaune, . . ." The redhead's eyes moved between the two before continuing, hesitation strong in her voice. "Say hello to _your_ daughter."

That did the trick, his legs finally gave out and he was now firmly planted on the floor. The only sound he could hear was the ringing in his ears and the muffled sound of Pyrrha giggling. Jaune's mind was struggling to keep up with this wave of information. With a smile plastered on her face the red head walked over to her love to help him off the floor. Once to his feet and her words finally starting to sink in, Pyrrha gestured for their daughter to come over and meet her father. Once the door had been shut and she began walking over to her mother, a familiar sound echoed in the open hall that instantly filled Jaune with a sense of dread.

From further into the house a small child came hobbling around a corner. She must have been a few years younger than Citrine since this new child was still struggling with walking. The new child had a nice head of hair, charcoal black that grew to golden highlights. She was dressed in a black onesie with red frills at the wrists and ankles, as well as having a cartoonish beaowolf face decorating the chest. Her silver eyes lit up the moment they saw Jaune, and she dashed over to him as fast as her little limbs would let her, giggling all the while.

"Now who is this little cutie?" Pyrrha inquired as she caught the speedster right before she could fall face first into the tile floor. She picked her up meeting the child's gaze and after a few blinks from the infant and a pat or two onto Pyrrha's cheek the little girl began to break out into a fit of laughter. "Jaune she's adorable, whose child is she?"

"She's uhh" before he could finish another familiar voice came dashing out from around the same corner as the child.

"Jaune, did you see where she went? OH and who was at the d- OH MY GOD, PYRRHA!" One Ruby Rose, practically tackling her dear friend, wrapped her arms around the other in a big hug. With tears trailing down her face the scythe wielder openly showed her jubilation in her friend's return only to be broken out of her excitement by the look on Jaune's face, which was now paler than any of Weiss' summons.

"Pyrrha, where have you been, we all thought you were dead!" Ruby exclaimed, not releasing Pyrrha from her welcoming embrace.

A tiny cough once again brought attention to the little blond standing a few feet away. Ruby released Pyrrha from her grasp only to notice the precious bean the older woman was holding.

"Is this yours?" Pyrrha gestured to the little girl in her arms. Before Ruby could answer the infant stretched out her arms towards the caped girl in the tell tail sign that she wanted to be held.

"Yes, this is my little Topaz." Ruby warmly admitted as she took the girl into her arms. "And despite being only one she is already a great little escape artist, yes you are." Pyrrha could feel the warmth from the teasing in Ruby's voice as she rubbed noses with the giggling ball of joy.

"She really does take after you Ruby, and not just her looks. She also seems to have the power to brighten up a room with her presence. OH, and this is my daughter." Pyrrha said, gesturing for her own child to come to her side. "Her name is Citrine and she is three." Without prompting from her mom the girl repeated her earlier greeting, this time towards Ruby.

"Hello Citrine, I'm Ruby. It's very nice to meet you." Ruby had put Topaz down and walked over to the little blond before kneeling and stretching out her hand. Citrine only responded with a grunt while her fists gripped at the base of her shirt.

"I'm sorry." The girl's mom spoke. "She is very shy with strangers, but I've told her a lot about you. Both of you, everyone in fact." Pyrrha was fondly glancing over at Jaune; the action did not go unnoticed by Ruby. "I've told her a lot of stories about everyone and about many of our adventures."

"Ehh yeah . . . I hope you kept them kid friendly. But Pyrrha, where did she come from?" Ruby inquired.

". . . Oh you know," Pyrrha glancing towards Topaz before returning her attention back to Ruby and giving the girl a playful raise of her eyebrow. "From the usual place I guess." Both Ruby and Jaune's mouths hung open at the unexpected dirty joke. Ruby was the only one who joined in on the laughter while Citrine looked on through confused eyes and Jaune was still trying to process everything.

"If you don't mind my asking, who is the father?" Ruby asked, though she had her suspicions. Pyrrha and Jaune hadn't exactly been subtle about their relationship when they first started dating years ago.

"He's right here in fact." The Amazonian bashfully admitted. "Jaune is her father. "

"REALLY?!" The word escaped her mouth before she had a chance to stop it. "I mean you've been gone so long, it wouldn't be that strange for you to have . . . met someone, else."

"Oh Ruby, you know Jaune is the only man for me." The words came out with a touch of hostility. How dare Ruby even suggest that she would betray the man she loved. "Also the night before I left on my mission Jaune and I . . . we shared a night together. I haven't been with anyone since, so there is no doubt in my mind. By the way, who's the father of your little girl?"

"My little what?! Girl . . .? My girl? . . . err . . . well . . . umm . . ." Now it was Ruby's turn to lose the color from her face as her eyes darted around the room looking for an answer, desperate to look anywhere but into the jade of Pyrrha's own eyes.

"Da, up, up." Everyone's eyes turned to face Topaz, Ruby's little girl, who had walked over to Jaune and was holding onto his leg with one hand as she reached up at him with her other. Both Jaune and Ruby would swear the temperature in the house had dropped ten degrees with the cold sweat they'd both broken out in.

"Oh that's precious, she must really like you Jaune, but who could blame her?" A warm smile once more decorated Pyrrha's face. "You must have spent a lot of time helping Ruby take care of her."

" . . . You could say that." Jaune sheepishly agreed.

"Is he out on a mission right now Ruby? Pyrrha asked, referring to Ruby's unknown partner. At the same time Citrine was getting fidgety and reached for her mother's hand. Upon noticing, Pyrrha gently took the small digits into hers before returning her attention to her stammering friend.

" . . . err no." Ruby was having trouble finding the right words to answer Pyrrha's questions.

"Have I met the father before?" Citrine was now looking back and forth between the adults trying to keep up with the conversation.

"uhh . . ." Ruby's eyes darted around the room again before locking with Jaune's and silently pleading with him for help.

"Oh no how rude of me!" Pyrrha gasped, a sudden realization dawning on her. It wasn't uncommon for people in their profession to 'never return' from a mission. "I'm so sorry for your loss. You are doing a splendid job of raising her Ruby."

Jaune and Ruby exchanged worried looks. It would seem that Pyrrha had jumped to the conclusion that Topaz's father was dead, or that he had abandoned them. Before either pale host could correct the misunderstanding a smoke alarm went off.

"OH NO MY ROAST!" And with that Jaune gave Topaz back to Ruby and rushed off to the kitchen. The four girls were now left alone in the entryway, the only noise coming from the banging of pans in the kitchen and the occasional swear escaping Jaune's lips.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Ruby sheepishly asked, a small smile on her face.

"That would be lovely."

\- FfF -

Everyone had moved to the dinning room. Jaune was still fiddling with the food, trying to salvage whatever he could. Ruby was getting the dishes and setting the table for four, plus one baby set. Though Pyrrha had tried to help, the two were adamant that she just relaxes. While Pyrrha sat in her seat, entertaining both little girls, she noticed the little glances Jaune and Ruby were sharing with each other. The silent smiles, the worried looks, the closer than necessary distance the two had as they danced around each other, the brushing of their hands that lasted longer than Pyrrha felt was necessary.

"How long have you two been living together?" Pyrrha dryly asked, more to break the two out of their own little world than out of any curiosity.

"Wha- huh? Why do you ask?" Questioned Ruby, nearly dropping the glasses that Jaune had just handed her when Pyrrha tripped her up with the unexpected query.

"Well you two seem to know your way around the kitchen. I haven't even heard one of you say anything, yet you're both in perfect sync." She couldn't put her finger on why but the sight of those two being _so_ _close_ bothered her in the weirdest of ways. Pyrrha knew that Ruby and Jaune were really good friends, they'd always been that way since their first meeting at Beacon. But this kind of close just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Oh, well a few years ago Weiss finally gained control of the Schnee Dust Company." Ruby explained as she began setting out enough plates for everyone. "She has really turned things around. Anyways, not long after that she opened up this house to us . . . And by us I mean teams RWBY and JNPR. Everyone has their own room; there are even a few guest rooms still. Awfully generous of her right? Heh Though I guess it's more like a mansion than a house." In truth the building had been more of a gift from the heiress to her favorite dolt when she found out about Ruby's pregnancy. 'No friend of mine is going to have a child without a proper home to live in.' she'd say each time Ruby protested the generous gift. "Now everyone uses this place to rest between missions."

Ruby was trying her hardest to keep her cool now that she had had time to calm down and take in the whole situation. Where Jaune had realized the moment he saw Pyrrha only now was it dawning on Ruby how bad the situation was. Pyrrha was back, her friend, and that should be a good thing. But she has a kid now! They both did! Ruby knew that Jaune and Pyrrha used to be close, but she didn't think they were _that_ close. No doubt Pyrrha would want to get back together with Jaune. Would he? Ruby was sure that he had moved on, at least she was pretty sure.

"-by, RUBY! That's enough water, thank you." Pyrrha had been repeating Ruby's name until she was snapped out of her trance, only then had Ruby noticed the little puddle she had created around one of the glass cups.

"Oh sorry Pyrrha." She quickly reached for one of the napkins to soak up the water only to find her hand eclipsed by Jaune's hand as he brought a sponge down onto the wet table. The act was nearly instantaneous and neither flinched at the closeness of their bodies. Jaune was right behind Ruby, her body nearly cupped into his as he soaked up the spill. Once done, he returned to his task in the kitchen without batting an eye. Pyrrha and Citrine could only look on with furrowed brows at the spectacle that had just occurred before them.

\- FfF -

"Thank you Jaune, Ruby, that was a wonderful dinner. I can't remember the last time either of us has had a nice warm meal like that." Pyrrha wasn't even trying to be nice, she honestly hadn't had a nice meal in the last few years, and getting to spend a peaceful evening with friends was more than she could have asked for.

"No problem Pyrrha. We're glad you could be here with us." Ruby was now rocking Topaz in her arms while Jaune took to cleaning up. She didn't even mind, much, when Pyrrha was sticking so close to Jaune during dinner. Not even when Pyrrha tried to feed him, or when he went along with it. Nope, didn't mind at all, not one bit, not even the teeniest tiniest iota of a care. Nope not her.

"Yeah, I'm just sorry we didn't have much to go around." Jaune was referring to his burnt roast. If Pyrrha hadn't insisted that they still eat it then Ruby and Jaune would have just called for take out, third time that week. Both were glad that they didn't when they saw how happily Citrine had eaten the meal. The girl had practically shoveled the food into her mouth like it was the tastiest thing she'd ever eaten.

"Ruby I've been meaning to ask, when did you decide to grow out your hair?" Citrine had gotten up on her own to help Jaune with the dishes leaving Pyrrha with nothing to do. If Pyrrha hadn't thought it'd be a good father daughter bonding moment, she would have preferred being the one standing next to him.

"Oh this?" Ruby asked shaking her head to gesture to her hair that was worn tied up into a high ponytail. "Well it's a little silly but . . . my mom had long hair. I was really young when she . . . left us, and now that I'm a mother too . . . " Her eyes drifted to the sleeping child in her arms, a soft smile painted her face causing her expression to ease. "Well it gives me a connection to her, ya know? Not like my cape, but . . . She was super mom, slayer of monsters and baker of cookies. It's just . . . I thought if I could resemble her a little . . . Maybe I could be half as awesome as she was."

"Oh Ruby, there is nothing silly about that at all." Before either knew when it happened Pyrrha's arms were locked around the other woman in a comforting embrace. Pyrrha had been brought to tears at her friend's touching sentiment. Her circlet was a memento of her own mother, which she kept with her always for similar reasons.

"Now it's your turn." This brought Pyrrha out of her nostalgic memories and back into the present. As the two began wiping away their tears, Ruby noticed she only received a confused stare from her friend so she elaborated with a giggle in her voice. "Why'd you cut your hair so short?!"

Pyrrha raised her hand to her head, stroking the short tuff of hair that decorated her head as if searching for the reason in her memories. It was as short as Ruby's had been when the girl first entered Beacon.

"It's not as . . . charming a reason as yours Ruby. But it's because, well . . . it caught on fire." Though she said it with a smile Ruby looked on with concerned eyes waiting for the rest of the story. Both girls however were pulled out of their moment when their heads were drawn towards Jaune who had dropped a plate into the sink full of water. The resulting splash landing on the front of his shirt and the top of Citrine's head. Looking back Jaune was greeted with dirty glares from both mothers. 'So he is listening' the redhead warmly thought to herself. Returning to Ruby's concerned gaze Pyrrha felt is was her turn to elaborate.

"It's been a few months since, but I was fighting a fire dust user. Most of my hair got burnt in the fight and it couldn't be saved so I just cut it short. It might be time for a trim though. Truthfully having shorter hair makes it far easier to move around in battle so I don't mind." This seemed to put not only Ruby and Jaune at ease, but Citrine who was also listening to her mother's words. Citrine loved her mother's beautiful hair and was sad the day she had to cut it all off.

"I think it's probably bedtime for the girls." Jaune hummed to the two lovely ladies hoping that their anger at him had diminished. Topaz had already been asleep in her mother's arms for some time and Citrine was nodding off next to him, not realizing that she was holding onto his pant leg for support as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Can I pick you up?" Citrine nodded towards the blond man who promptly scooped her into his gentle arms. Both women looked on at the charming sight. Jaune motioned with his head for the other two to follow him up to the bedrooms. It took a few extra seconds for both women to break out of their charmed trance. It didn't help that Jaune never broke eye contact, though only he knew whom his gaze was directed at. Pyrrha opted to stay behind and finish the task her child and love had started while the children were put to bed.

All the bedrooms were located on the second floor and although Jaune had plenty of practice carrying little Topaz up those steps, to carry the older girl without waking her proved a touch more challenging. The house had come fully furnished with each bedroom easily fitting a queen-sized bed. Jaune had wished Nora were there when it was time to clear out one of the rooms that became Topaz's nursery. The third room on the right after getting up the stairs was still unoccupied and so that is where Jaune carried Citrine. After moving the sheets and laying her down, he took off her shoes, slid off the beanie and tucked the young girl in. He sat on the bedside stroking her hair, which eased her into slumber. Her last actions before drifting off were unconsciously leaning into his large warm hand and sighing contently at the tranquil act.

As he eased the door shut Jaune's focus was lost, off in a far away place. Only when a small hand rested on his shoulder was he brought back into reality.

"Is she asleep?" Ruby spoke softly so as to not wake anyone.

"mmm"

"Are you okay?"

"mmm, yeah I'm fine." Jaune rested his hand on Ruby's and slowly began to stroke it with his thumb. "Thank you Ruby."

" . . ."

" . . ."

"What are we going to do?" Ruby had spun him around so he could face her. Her hand moving to rest across his cheek as she repeated the soothing gestures with her thumb.

"I don't know." He admitted, resting his cheek into her palm. "But we'll figure something out. We always do." Although he was smiling at her, Ruby could tell his eyes weren't nearly as optimistic as his words.

" . . . We have to tell her."

" . . . Yeah."

" . . . Jaune?"

"Not tonight Ruby. Just . . . let her rest. Lets give her that at least."

Ruby nodded in agreement. Her hand dropping from his face so it could wrap around his back to meet its pair. Jaune wrapped his own arms around the petite woman and pulled her close. They just enjoyed each other's presence in the silence of the empty hall.

After some time Jaune pulled far enough away for the two to stair into each other's eyes. He raised his hand and she happily rested her cheek into his palm. Slowly the two shared a kiss before returning to their embrace, Ruby burring her head into the man's chest.

" . . . I love you." Jaune whispered only loud enough to tickle her ears.

" . . . I know."

They both shared in a good laugh at the girl's mood killing reference before separating their bodies, leaving only their hands still in contact.

"She's down there, waiting for us." Ruby hummed to him.

" . . . Yeah."

"Come on _hubby_ , lets go catch up with our friend." She playfully taunted as she headed for the stairs.

"heh Alright _wifey_ , you win. Lets go."

\- FfF -

When the two returned to the ground floor they did not find Pyrrha in the kitchen but waiting for them in the drawing room, her nose buried in a book. When Pyrrha heard her friends' footsteps she put the book down and turned around to greet them with a welcoming smile before waving the two over. The couple shared in one last locking glance before smiling together, letting out a shared sigh and deciding to go catch up with their no longer deceased friend.

"I bet we'll need some drinks for this." Ruby winked at the man beside her. "Hey Pyrrha, can I get you a drink?" After Ruby turned twenty-one, Crow shared some of his favorite drinks with his favorite niece. Ever since then Ruby began practicing her home bartending skills. She'd gotten pretty good, but Jaune always has to stop her from having too much.

"We have a large selection and Ruby's always looking for an excuse to work her magic." Jaune added as he walked over to the couch. Pyrrha had scooted over so he could sit next to her but instead he chose to sit on the couch opposite her.

"Hmm, do you have any red wines?" Ruby stuck her tongue out at the simple request but still accepted the order and left with a wave of her hand.

The room was open on one side with a couch dividing it from the hall. The couch was one of four pieces of furniture surrounding a glass coffee table that had rubber guards around the edges; baby proofing for Topaz Pyrrha figured. Around the table was another small couch opposite hers and two matching chairs to finish out the frame.

"Did she go to sleep without any fuss?" Pyrrha spoke, interrupting the silence of the room.

"Huh? Oh yeah. She passed right out as soon as I got her in bed. You two must have been though a lot."

" . . . Yes it has been . . . difficult. But it is good to be back."

" . . ."

" . . ."

"I like it." This time it was Jaune who broke the awkward silence.

"Excuse me?"

"Your hair I mean. I like it; it suits you. Not that your old style didn't suit you, it did. I mean they both do. What I'm trying to say is . . . _sigh_ you look beautiful."

Pyrrha was relieved to see that Jaune was still the loveable goof she remembered, but was taken aback by the unexpected compliment. Of course she was quite happy that he still found her attractive and now the air between them was awkward for a different reason.

For the first time that night she was able to really get a good look at him, and she liked what she saw. His hair was shorter and better kept now, nothing like the wild tuff he had when they first met. His hair wasn't the only difference; his body had gotten leaner, more muscular, befitting of a huntsman who defended the people and slayed monsters; monsters which had left scars on his body. She could see some of them on his arms, though they had faded and were barley visible now. As she studied the fading remnants of past victories she saw a hand pointing up.

"You're staring." Jaune had caught her red handed and her face turned and equal shade to match her hair. She wished it were still long so she could hide behind it right now and not see his smug face. Before Pyrrha could get out another word a glass was placed in front of her on the coffee table. Ruby had returned with three different drinks and was laying them out playing at being a waitress.

"That's one glass of our finest red wine for the beautiful lady, two whisky on the rocks for the gentleman, and one Blossom Berry for the cutie in the cape~." Ruby's drink looked more like a pink smoothie in its tall glass topped by a strawberry. However with the red glow illuminating her face, Pyrrha figured the young girl must have already had a few drinks before coming back out.

"Ruby, that drink is actually too strong for-" but Pyrrha was cut off when Jaune took a big sip from his glass before thanking Ruby who by now had sat down next to him, returning his thanks with a smile. After that Pyrrha just took a large sip of her own drink.

"So Pyrrha," Ruby started. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened? Where have you been all this time? We knew you went on a mission that Ozpin suggested but other than that we couldn't learn anything. We all thought you had died." Without meaning to she had driven into the woman that all her friends and loved ones believed her dead for the last few years.

"Well Ruby . . . its' a long story."

"We've got time. And if you don't want to, we won't force you to talk about it." Jaune reassured her.

With a heavy sigh Pyrrha looked to her friends then to her reflection in the blood red drink. She could tell them, she wanted to tell them, but how would they react, what would they think of her? After mulling it over for a few minutes, she resigned to share her tale.

"As you both already know Ozpin personally brought this mission to my attention four years ago. A relay tower for the CCT was being built in secret on one of the islands south of the main continent of Sanus. The new tower would expand the range of the CCT making exploration of the area safer. We had spotty service when we first arrived and then a week later nothing. We believed one of the relay towers on the mainland had been damaged or destroyed by a Grimm attack. The construction company there was having difficulties with Grimm disrupting the transportation of building materials, supplies, and the actual construction. It was supposed to be a simple protection job. There were many other experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses there from all the kingdoms."

"Okay I follow you so far, but why the secrecy, why did Ozpin think it would be a good mission for you and not someone else? There are plenty of people who could do Grimm extermination." Ruby asked.

"While excavations were being done to the area for the tower, a dust vein was unearthed. The Kingdom of Vacuo were the ones who found it, at least that is what we were told. It seems they wanted to keep the discovery a secret, which means they only wanted trustworthy people there. You know how the Schnee Dust Company nearly has a monopoly on dust? Whoever was in charge of the operation must have seen it as a lucky business opportunity. The island was already far removed from any nearby villages; it would take several days to get anywhere after reaching the mainland even by bullhead. For that reason there were little chances anyone would stumble on the site. The biggest threat of exposure then would come from those working there.

When I arrived tensions were already pretty high and after a months people were divided, huntsmen and workers alike. Many people wanted to get off the island and return home or they saw fit to take the dust for themselves. With all that negativity it didn't take long before the Grimm started to show up in greater force. Between the increasing Grimm, the rebelling workers and rogue Huntsmen it became a difficult battle for survival. A lot of people lost their lives . . . many of whom by my own hand . . . I tried to write, but I never knew if any of my letters made it back."

Pyrrha had finished her drink by now and was clutching her fists in her lap, eyes firmly pointed down at her feet not wanting to make contact with her friends out of fear for how they'd look at her. At this point Jaune got up and left the room without a word. Pyrrha just sat there, unmoving until a weight sat down next to her and took her into a gentle embrace. Ruby had moved to sit next to her and in truth the girl's presence calmed her greatly. Jaune returned a few moments later placing a few letters onto the table. He picked one up and opened it to inspect the contents.

"This is the last one I got. It mentions a tough battle you had with a large group of Beringels and that your clients seemed to be stressed. There's also . . . how much you missed me. I missed you too. . . . Did you ever get any of my letters?"

Pyrrha shook her head, Ruby still siting beside her but with her hands now resting atop the other woman's. How many letters didn't make it to her she wondered. What words had her love spoken that she would never hear? With a gentle squeeze from the petite woman's hand and the soft worry in her eyes Pyrrha took a breath and continued her story.

"With all the fighting and confusion I hadn't even noticed the first two months when I missed my periods. I remember being grateful I wasn't trying to fight with cramps. Even when the morning sickness came I just wrote it off as caused by the bad food, if you could even call that packaged cardboard food. It wasn't until the third month when my body started showing signs that I finally learned I was pregnant. I fought for as long as I could after that. With several close calls and nearly being killed more times than I could count, I had no choice but to step away from the battlefield. I still helped where I could with sniping and logistics but even that I had to stop at some point."

"Why didn't you just leave?" Jaune asked, nearly pleading. "Surely they would have let you return after finding out about your condition." Finally the woman made eye contact with the man she had so longed to meet again and saw that his eyes were full of hurt and concern. Knowing he still cared brought out a soft smile on her face and alleviated some of her anxieties.

"I couldn't. By the time I found out, it was too dangerous to leave the island. Sea Feilongs sank nearly every ship that tried to leave by water while Griffons and Nevermores kept the air ships grounded. To leave was asking for death so I had no choice but to stay."

"What about Vacuo, or Ozpin? Why didn't they send any help?!" Ruby demanded.

"Ozpin didn't know. The details about the mission simply stated it would be a long-term protection job and that the clients required trustworthy individuals capable of dealing with Geist class Grimm. And we received help at first. Like I said, the Grimm destroyed nearly every ship traveling around the island. It was strange that they were more willing to allow ships to arrive and only acted in force when met with any attempt to leave. We were able to salvage some supplies from what washed ashore or the lucky ones that crash-landed on the island. After a while some of us became suspicious and dug a little deeper. The tower was a cover up for the dust vein mining. Similar requests had been sent to other schools and huntsman guilds but the requesters were from different people. Before I could look any further into it my pregnancy got in the way.

Thankfully I had a safe birth. One of the downed cargo ships had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. My semblance helped a lot in transporting wreckage and building up our camps before my pregnancy put me out of action. Attacks from the rebels had lessened quite a bit by the time I gave birth to Citrine, but it was still far too dangerous to attempt any kind of escape. Many of the deserters had tried to leave the island but the Grimm got to them every time. I spent the next few years fighting and working to make that place safe enough for us to leave. I've lost count of how many times I nearly died, but the thought of Citrine being alone motivated me to get back up and drag myself back to camp each time. I often told Citrine stories about all of you, especially you Jaune. They became her bedtime stories. She was especially fond of the first time we met.

One day we were able to get an airship working using spare parts we had recovered from several downed ships. There weren't as many of us anymore and many of those who had rebelled and were still alive decided to work together to get home. There were still many dangers but with the major decrease in Grimm activity it was finally safe enough for people to attempt an escape. My companions told me to take Citrine and leave the island, that the battlefield was no place for a child. Heh they practically shoved us onto that Bullhead. We barely made it to land, mid flight we were attacked by a group of Nevermores. Somehow we fended them off but our ship still had to make a crash landing. Some of my friends didn't survive the trip but we were off that hellish place. Of course the first thing we had to do was get word to Vacuo, let them know that there were still survivors who needed help. I don't know if they ever sent anyone. As soon as we informed Shade Academy's headmaster we headed straight for Beacon.

On our travels we ran into Ren and Nora, that's how we knew where to find you Jaune. But they never mentioned anything about you being here Ruby, or that you were a mother now. Maybe they did but I was just too happy to hear them. It was great to run into friendly faces for once. The last few years has really taken a toll on me. Roughly a year after Citrine was born I started having nightmares. Nightmares that you had been killed Jaune, that I wasn't able to save you. I feared I would never get to see you again and Citrine would never get to meet her father. I can't tell you how many nights I couldn't sleep because . . . because I would see Citrine hanging in the mouth of a Beowolf whenever I closed my eyes."

At this point Pyrrha was shaking, struggling to get the words out through the tears streaming down her face. The strong and invincible Pyrrha Nikos had finally broken down. Now that they were safe and she didn't have to put a guard up around her heart, all the worries and anxieties that she had been holding back flooded out in a torrent of emotions. Jaune finally took a seat next to the woman who promptly fell into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and began gently rubbing in circles on her back to reassure her that everything would be fine now. For several minutes the three just sat in that quiet room listening to the sobbing of their dear companion while embracing her with their warmth.

When Pyrrha's sobbing finally subsided and her breathing had settled Ruby was the first to get up and remove her presence from the couch, the empty glasses being her target. When Jaune tried to get up arms that had somehow worked themselves around his waist pulled him back into the seat. He couldn't help the small grin that worked its way into the corner of his mouth.

"Pyrrha, I think it's time we all get some rest." The only response Jaune received was a head slowly shaking against his chest. He looked to Ruby for help, but she just looked on in amusement. She was eager to see how he'd talk his way out of her tight embrace.

"Come on Pyrrha, it's been a long day and we could all use the sleep."

". . . Carry me."

"What?"

"I'll go if you carry me." Pyrrha was looking up at Jaune with puppy dog eyes. She had never acted this spoiled in all the time he knew her, but maybe she deserved to be spoiled after everything she has been though. Her arms were still wrapped around the man's frame and when she didn't receive an answer her head returned to rest against his chest. He glanced at Ruby, eyes begging for support, but a forced smile and shrug of her shoulders told him he'd receive no assistance in this crisis. This received a silent scoff from the troubled young man.

"Okay I'll carry you, " Jaune started. "But I can't guarantee it'll be a comfortable ride. Is that okay with you?" This time when Pyrrha's eyes met with his, Jaune was greeted with a slow nod of her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to pick her up bridal style. Ruby was no longer watching the two but was leading the way to the bedrooms upstairs.

Once they reached the precipice of the second floor their little group disbanded. Ruby disappeared behind the door leading to her personal room while Jaune carried Pyrrha to the room containing their sleeping daughter. Ruby watched from behind her door as the two disappeared into the other room. Once inside Jaune tried to set Pyrrha down but she refused to let go, completely content with her current position. After seeing Jaune's pleading look she reluctantly released her darling from her clutches.

"I'll leave you to change." He whispered to her in hopes to not wake Citrine. As Jaune turned to leave arms came flying from behind to encircle him in a strong embrace.

"Thank you." The woman's voice was low, relaxed, at peace.

"For what?"

"For still being you." Pyrrha's face was now nuzzled against his back as she tried to close the distance between them as much as was physically possible. "I was so terrified that you wouldn't be behind that door, that you would be someone I couldn't recognize. But there you were, same adorable dopy expression on your face as I remembered."

"Pyrrha . . ." There was hurt in his voice, hurt and concern for the woman he once loved; still loved. His hand rose to encompass her hands against his chest. The action was a much-needed reassurance. As she rubbed her face into his back she continued.

" . . . Thank you." This time the whisper was barely audible.

"What for this time?"

"For accepting me back into your life, for accepting Citrine so easily. I had no idea how you'd react or if you'd even accept her as our child. I know we only spent the one night together before I left . . ." the man in her arms interrupted her when he struggled to keep back his laughter. She gave him a quick squeeze to show her displeasure and hurt.

"I'm sorry, but I was terrible that night. I had _no_ _idea_ what I was doing. Haha"

"I thought it was nice for my first time. I enjoyed myself." Neither saw the blush appearing on their faces as they remembered their first and only passionate night together.

" . . ."

" . . ."

"It'd make sense you know, if you didn't believe me about Citrine. I know how crazy it sounds."

"I trust you." He said, dismissing her doubt.

Pyrrha gently guided Jaune to turn around to face her before reaching up to cups his face in her hands. Their eyes had now adjusted enough to the darkness to make out the curves of their partner's face. As they got lost in each other's eyes Pyrrha moved in to brush her lips across his once more. Before they could meet, Jaune turned his head to avoid her and pulled away from her grip, which caused a look of heartache on her face.

"I'm sorry . . . Pyrrha. It's just . . ."

"What's wrong?" This time her hand rose to rest on his cheek as a show of reassurance. She would listen to anything he had to say and try to understand, and he knew this.

"You were gone for so long, and when people who do what we do are gone that long . . . they usually don't come back. This . . . this is going to take time to get used to. Until a few hours ago I was convinced you were dead. This still doesn't feel real yet."

Though disheartened, Pyrrha could understand where he was coming from. There were more than a few times she had seen illusions of him only to find out that they were just tricks of her desires. She stepped away from him yet remained close enough for her hands to rest on his chest.

"May I make one request?"

"If it is within my power."

"Stay with me." The look on his face showed he was waiting for her to say more. 'Of course it wouldn't be that easy.' she thought to herself. "Please stay with me until I fall asleep." This time she received a nod form the blond. Accepting what she could get, Pyrrha stepped away from her love and moved to her luggage for a change of clothes. While unlacing her corset she noticed Jaune had turned around and wasn't looking at her.

"What's the matter, don't like what you see?" She teased.

"I thought I'd give you some privacy."

"And if I want you to look?"

"Pyrrha! Really, in front of Citrine?" his whispering had shot up in volume but thankfully the young girl in bed had not stirred.

"You're no fun, I was just teasing~"

Pyrrha couldn't see the disgruntled look on Jaune's face with his back to her, but she still took pleasure in her little joke with him. Even if a part of her did want him to peep. She knew that Jaune wasn't ready for anything to start up between them that night, but that didn't mean she wasn't. In truth the wine was still playing with her head and only time would tell if she could keep her desires in check now that the man of her dreams was standing only a few feet away from her.

The sound of Pyrrha sliding off each article of cloth from her body and discarding it on the carpeted floor echoed throughout the room. Jaune desperately wanted to turn and look yet did not, despising himself for the impure thoughts racing through his mind. While lost in his thoughts Pyrrha had finished changing and had made her way over to the distracted man. He didn't seem to notice when she started wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. Pressing her ample bosom against his back seemed to get his attention though. With her grip tightening around his well-built stomach the red head nearly purred at her beloved's adorable bashful reaction, her arms preventing him from pulling away from her.

"Pyrrha," he nearly chocked out. "What, a . . . what are you doing?"

". . . Good night hug?" Her voice was coy as she rubbed her face into the center of his back once more.

After her tease, Pyrrha released her grip enough to allow the man to turn around and face her. The first thing he noticed was how her shorter hair delicately framed out her beautiful face. Her circlet had been removed showing her rarely seen forehead which lead to those jade green pools staring up at him. From the look in her eyes Pyrrha knew full well that Jaune was checking her out and she was perfectly smug about it. Averting his gaze was all the prompting the woman needed to bring her chest up against his, once again locking her arms around to keep their bodies close.

Jaune wasn't sure of it before, but now there was no doubt in his mind. Pyrrha wasn't wearing a bra! The sensations pressed up against him were two of her deadliest weapons against his sanity. The realization caused him to quickly bring his gaze back onto her, fully ready to chide her for her seduction tactics when he noticed what she was wearing. Jaune couldn't help but break out into a muffled laugh, which took Pyrrha completely by surprise and caused her to back away from the giddy man. Now she was feeling embarrassed by her behavior and was returning to her bashful ways, her left arm stroking her right to comfort her unease.

"heheheh You still have that?" Jaune was genuinely surprised and amused that Pyrrha was wearing one of his old shirts that she had 'borrowed' from him all those years ago when they had first started dating. It was a large orange t-shirt with the Pumpkin Pete logo on the chest. The shirt was just long enough to hide the woman's lower region from view but short enough to give him an eyeful of her well toned legs.

"If you'd like it back then you can come over here and strip it off me~" Both began to blush at her provocative suggestion. She had lost some confidence but the tingling in her chest and loins weren't ready to give up yet.

". . ."

"Why do you still have it?" Jaune questioned, finally broken out of the fantasy of Pyrrha's suggestion.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes returning to meet his.

"It's falling apart, I can see the holes from here." True, even in the dark room lit only by moonlight Jaune could see how worn the shirt had become. The logo image was cracked all over and heavily faded. The sleeves had been torn off. Around the neck and in places all over the shirt varying sizes of holes had formed.

At the question Pyrrha had to look away from him. After a minute she looked over at their sleeping daughter then back to him.

"I umm, I wear it when I feel lonely. These last few years I've . . . I've worn it a lot." Her gaze had dropped to the floor. Her eyes were wistful with her next words. "It's one of my favorite things."

Any craving for the man's touch was now gone having remembered all the lonely nights she had spent wishing for nothing more than to be back in his arms. Now all she wanted was the gentle comfort that came from being near him. Shyly gazing at her beloved, Pyrrha raised up her arms in a gesture asking to be held. She had been so aggressive about being close to him that Jaune couldn't say no to her passive request. This time he could tell there was no teasing, no attempts at seduction, just someone who needed a hug.

Jaune held Pyrrha in that dark room as long as she needed. His warmth, the smell of his hair, the beating of his heart and the raising and fall of his chest all seemed to sooth her nerves. She hadn't even realized when she fell asleep standing there in his arms. A gentle rocking and her name whispered in his voice stirred the woman from the start of a pleasant dream, one she thought she was still having when she looked at him though her half-asleep eyes.

"Pyrrha, its bed time." She cooed in agreement and allowed Jaune to walk her to the empty half of the mattress.

While she climbed into bed Jaune pulled up a stool so he could sit at her bedside. When she was comfortable enough she reached out her hand for his. The two of them remained there, hand in hand until Jaune was certain that his sleeping beauty had entered a deep sleep. Just before he got up to leave he noticed a small tear forming at the corner of her eye. He wiped it away then gently kissed her forehead before quietly departing the room, turning back once at the door to gaze at the two woman who had recently come into his life.

Back out in the hall as Jaune tried to organize his thoughts, two silver eyes staring at him from behind a door caught his attention. He motioned for the woman to come over but she just stuck her hand out mimicking his gesture. When Jaune got to her room the girl pulled him in. Ruby had changed into her pajamas, a black tank top and strawberry patterned shorts. As she went over and sat on the bed she spoke softly to him.

"How is she doing? You were in there for quite a while." Her hands lay in her lap, fingers fiddling with each other, and her eyes seemed to look past him instead of directly at him.

"She is asleep now." He walked further into the room, eyes lowered while deep in thought.

"Jaune?" The name laced with concern when spoken. They had both heard Pyrrha's story; both still worried about her wellbeing.

"She's not in a good place Ruby. Being here, with us helps I think."

". . . With you." She corrected in a whisper. Her fists now clenched in her lap.

"huh?" Jaune finally drew his eyes from the floor to look at the petite girl sitting on the bed before him who looked even smaller than normal. Her shoulders had balled in on herself, causing her to hunch over. Her head hung low avoiding his gaze as she spoke, her voice trembling with every word.

"Being here with you helps. She still loves you Jaune; anyone could see that. We won't be able to keep this a secret from her for long."

"We can't tell her yet."

"But Jaune -" she started before being interrupted, her arms wrapping around her petite frame.

"Not yet!" He snapped, regretting it as quickly as it had happened. Ruby had lifted her head; the start of tears in her eyes went unnoticed by her partner. "She . . . she deserves some time to rest, some happiness."

"But you can't give her what she wants." She pleaded.

"I can help her. She wants me to be a father for Citrine."

"She wants you, Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed as she jumped off the bed, fisted hands at her sides while tears began their decent down the porcelain surface of her face. "She wants to pick up where you two left off, but she can't!"

"Ruby . . ." Jaune's gaze was once more brought to the beautiful woman before him, bringing him back into the present.

"What about our daughter? What about me?!" She demanded. "Do you not want us anymore now that she is back? Was I just her replacement?" Ruby had devolved into a mess of ugly crying as all of her worries flooded out of her and into the open.

"Ruby you know that's not true."

"Do I?!" Her voice was cracking. "You seemed to accept them awfully quickly. How can you accept that little girl as your daughter without any proof? I won't let her take you from me!"

"Ruby please, calm down." His arms were raised out in front of him like one would do to calm a raging wild animal.

"I hate this. I love you both, she is my friend and I should be happy that she is alive and back with us. So why do I feel this way, why does a part of me wish she had never come back? I hate myself for feeling this way!"

Jaune took Ruby into his arms despite all her protest and struggling. Eventually she stopped fighting back and just cried into his shoulder, only lightly pounding onto his chest with her right hand. Once she had calmed down Jaune loosened his grip to look his wife in the face. He had to take his thumb and forefinger to her chin to shift her gaze up at him.

"You were never a replacement. I was in a dark place and you saved me. We are together because I want to be with you. I fell for you and for whatever reason that is beyond my understanding you felt the same way." A small smile began to spring to life on the troubled girl's face. "Pyrrha isn't going to take me from you, no one could do that. I just have more people important to me that I want to protect now. Things are confusing for all of us and it won't be easy to figure anything out, but I want you to trust me. Do you think you can do that?"

The remnants of tears still rested in the corners of her eyes but she felt so much better now that she was able to get everything off her chest. She still worried about Jaune, he was too nice to hurt anyone and she couldn't find any way this would end without someone being hurt. But trust? Could she trust him, did she? Ruby pulled Jaune into a kiss that would have lasted a lifetime if she could make it happen. He had gotten her answer in the most charming of ways.

"Ruby . . . are we . . . okay now?" She was still in his arms, eyes red from her little break down but much more relaxed than when he had first entered her room.

". . .I don't know Jaune. We'll have to see in the morning."

"Want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

"hmm, nope~." Ruby playfully answered before pushing Jaune towards the door. "If you stay any longer then I won't be able to let you leave. Now go to bed before I change my mind."

"I hope that isn't an empty threat." He giggled out. Her only response was a tongue protruding from between her lips before the shutting door obscured her from view.

With a heavy sigh the man turned around to see if the door would peek open once more. No luck. With both of his 'lovers' now in bed he retired to his lonely den of slumber. Ever since they got the house not a single night had gone by where the two didn't share a bed, so long as one wasn't out on a mission. Of course Ruby still had her own separate room that doubled as a workshop, but he had always brought her back to their bed when she would pass out.

As he lay in bed Jaune could finally take in how big the queen-sized mattress was now that his little blanket stealer wasn't there. It felt awfully empty. For the first hour he did nothing but toss and turn trying to find a position that would calm his mind and allow him to drift into slumber. Time and time again he would whisper under his breath, 'what am I going to do?' as if chanting a spell that would bring the answer for all his worries to the forefront of his mind. Lying there on his back he would stair out into the darkness of the room illuminated only by the few beams of moonlight that managed to pass through the gaps in the curtains. Jaune could remember when they had gotten those curtains. A color resembling the red highlights in his darling's hair, ironically labeled 'Ruby' curtains.

As he gazed at those curtains a flash of red hair came to the forefront of his mind. Suddenly he was remembering all the fun times he had with Pyrrha. He began to recall the time when they first met, their first mission, the Vital Festival that was interrupted during the semifinals by an invasion from the White Fang lead by Adam Taurus. Thankfully no one died during the attack, but all the contestants fighting off the White Fang and Grimm was quite the memory.

He could remember when Pyrrha finally asked him out in their fourth year and he thought it was one of Nora's pranks. Jaune wished he could forget how badly their first date had gone or all the embarrassing moments they shared after that. Then her disappearance and all the worry and pain flashed across his mind. How he had plunged himself into battles to escape his worries, all the drinking and the self-destructive behavior that brought him to the brink. Then a different red head rose to the top of his mind, Ruby.

She was the one that was always there for him, supporting him for longer than he could remember. Even before Pyrrha had left, she was one of his closest friends. She was by his side though all the terrible times in his life and she never gave up on him. Ruby was always so sweet and Jaune couldn't help but think of all the adorable moments he had witnessed. He found a large dopy grin plastered on his face because nearly every memory of the caped girl was accompanied by the thought that she was too cute. She helped him get through his alcoholism, pulled him out of the suicidal behavior that had become so common after the hope of Pyrrha's return had withered away.

With all the memories of Ruby running around in his mind he couldn't figure out when he had started falling in love with her. His hand came to a rest on his left cheek as he recalled an especially treasured memory. The day he had nearly killed himself several times facing off against Grimm that easily outclassed him. Once they were all killed Ruby had walked right up to him and punched him hard enough to knock him off his feet. As he sat on the ground Ruby had dropped to her knees, tears flowing down her face as she lectured him about throwing his life away. He couldn't remember what possessed him to kiss her in that moment, but the embarrassed look on her face was completely worth the beating he received from Yang afterwards.

Not long after that the two started dating, and the rest is history. He had gotten to know both women, fallen in love with both of them, fathered their children and now here he was in this ridiculous soap opera of a situation. Was there any way to end this with everyone being happy? Was such a solution even possible? As Jaune faded out of consciousness the phrase passed through his mind once more.

'What am I going to do?'

CHAPTER END

/

Author Notes:

That was quite the ride wasn't it? If you've made it this far I want to say thank you. Again the next few chapters shouldn't be nearly as long. If you didn't mind the length or would like more chapters to be long like this one please comment below.

Join us for CH 2 when Pyrrha's child Citrine investigates if Jaune is worthy to be with momma Pyrrha.


	2. Chapter 2 The Morning After

Chapter 2 The Morning Aftermath

Ch summary:

The sun rises on a new day and Jaune receives a surprising reminder that the number of important people in his life has just been doubled. His patience, sanity and strength of will, will be tested all before breakfast.

Author's Notes:

Welcome back lovely readers~! Sorry for the hiatus but here we are with the continuation of our awkward family love triangle . . . thing. Using some of your comments from the first chapter I hope to answer some questions and concerns I saw. So by all means keep voicing concerns and point out plot holes and I'll keep using your influence to expand upon this world.

Jaune lay in bed, alone, as the earliest rays of morning sun crept their way into his and Ruby's bedroom. Despite having the entirety of the queen-sized mattress to himself, he remained in his usual place along the left half of the bed. As his consciousness began its shift from dreamscape to reality, all the events that had transpired the previous night began to wash over him. Pyrrha's return, the introduction of their daughter Citrine, Pyrrha's recollection of her life or death struggle while he and everyone else thought the woman dead, and finally having kept his and Ruby's relationship a secret from the battle worn woman. Jaune's stomach twisted in knots recalling the intimate moments he shared with both Ruby and Pyrrha, how both of them had broken down in his arms. His mind was waging war with his heart, wishing that he could bring joy to both of their lives yet knowing he would ultimately have to choose one. There was a great weight building on his chest, a weight that was making it hard to breath, a weight that had sneezed. Sneezed?

Opening his eyes, the blurry figure of the young blond girl came into focus. While he had been asleep Citrine had apparently snuck into his room, climbed up onto his bed and was now straddling him while sitting on his chest. The girl was still wearing the oversized grey shirt and brown shorts she had been put to sleep in the night prior. Her loose hair, no longer in a ponytail, fell around her head as she looked down at the now waking Jaune. Citrine's small hands rested on his shoulders while her two eyes narrowed, staring intently at the pinned adult.

"uhh . . . Good morning Citrine." His greeting was met only with silent stares through the girl's increasingly narrowing eyes. Jaune couldn't tell if she was trying to intimidate him or was just searching intently for some unknown answer on his face. What he did know was that he was pinned under this curious child, but not in the way he had originally thought. It was around now that he noticed how difficult it was to move his arms and legs. Only his head was protruding from the sheets, so he had thought with the little girl sitting on top of him that the sheets had him pinned. However, upon further inspection that turned out not to be the case. Somehow without waking him she had gotten a rope and tied him to the bed. The rope, which wrapped around the bed several times, made sure his movements were drastically limited. He would have been quite impressed if he wasn't on the receiving end. Before she could enact whatever diabolical plan that was running through her mind, there came a rap on the door.

"Jaune are you up?" Ruby, still in her pajamas, questioned as she cracked open the wooden door. "Pyrrha can't find Citrine anywhere and we could really use your hel- eh . . . ?"

Upon seeing the man restrained under the child, Ruby's brain needed a few seconds to process what her eyes were telling her. With the intruder interrupting her plans, Citrine quickly hopped off her father and darted past the older woman and out of the room before the interloper regained enough composure to stop her.

" . . . Wow Jaune, I didn't know you were into _that_ kinda thing." Ruby teased, finally coming back to her senses.

"Ruby please, right place wrong time. Now could you hurry up and untie me"

"Hmm now what if I don't want to just yet?" A fire had been lit in her silver-eyed soul after seeing her lover so defenseless. With Pyrrha's sudden and unexpected return, Ruby couldn't help but feel anxious that she could lose her beloved at any second. Unfortunately for Jaune, Ruby's subconscious was more than eager to exhibit her superiority over the Mistral beauty. With the child out of the room and the door ever so softly eased shut, Ruby gave into her subconscious instincts and sauntered over to the foot of the bed before crawling her way up his constricted body.

Jaune's predicament had shifted slightly. Now instead of a young blond girl straddling his chest there was a very adult, very dangerous dark-haired woman straddling . . . no grinding against his abs. Okay not slightly, this had shifted dramatically! If it had been a week ago, he might have played along with wherever this was going. But with two new people in the house, two people who could walk through that door at any second, Jaune was in no mood for these games. Though he'd have to remember it for a later date.

Luckily for him, the ropes were just loose enough to allow some wiggle room. Had he been alone then maybe he could have wormed his way out of the childish trap. However, with Ruby currently enjoying her little seduction game, all his struggling and bucking only proved to added fuel to the fire of her passion. Ruby always did like to be cuddly and fool around in the morning; in fact, Jaune was quite sure Topaz was conceived during one such 'playful' morning.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" He tried to question dryly, hoping she'd pick up on his disinterest.

"I'm just saying good morning~" The last word punctuated with a purr as she slid her body down his, bringing their lips ever so close. Just before they could touch his, Ruby's attention was pulled elsewhere. She gave him the most wickedly playful look before trailing her right hand from his shoulder down his still covered body. Finger tips lightly grazing over his chest as they moved down towards their target.

"It seems _this~_ wants to say good morning too~" Her hand had reached its target, his noticeable bulge forming under the sheets. Ruby then shifted her body to get more comfortable, stretching out down his side which allowed her chest to press up against him. All the while she lightly stroked at the tent he was pitching.

"R-Ruby, please!" This was getting out of control. Jaune could feel his heart racing, yet he couldn't tell if it was because of Ruby's touch or the fact they could get caught at any second. His eyes said no, though obviously the message got lost in translation.

"Yes dear~" She cooed into his neck, an action that sent Goosebumps racing through his body. Her hand left its resting place only to help prop her atop his beating chest. Now Ruby was lying completely on top of him and nibbling at his neck while she slowly grinded her lower half against his. Her quiet moans echoing in rhythm with the movement of her hips did NOT help him keep a hold of his sanity, especially when his own low suppressed moans seemed to provoke Ruby to get all the more aggressive.

"Ruby . . ." The plea escaped his lips in a low, breathy, desperate moan.

"Yes, say my name~" She demanded in that sensual voice she knew drove him wild.

The lustful woman bit his lower lip, which filled him with a sense of euphoria. Jaune just needed one more push to be sent over the edge, and she knew it. As the two became lost in the pools of each other's eyes, their lips inched ever closer once more. Jaune could feel the warm breath escaping past Ruby's inviting lips as the distance narrowed to nothing. Just before their lips could make their long overdue connection, Ruby was sent flying off of him and over the side of the bed. With one powerful thrust from the man beneath her the lustful woman had been sent airborne, landing on the floor with an audible thud.

Milliseconds before Ruby and Jaune's lips could meet, he heard the door to their room creak open and, in an attempt to avoid the worst-case situation, his body acted on impulse. Deeming getting his dark-haired vixen off of him in the quickest way possible as the best course of action; his body decided to catapult the woman. The side of the bed she had been thrown to was opposite the door, which had hidden her from view. The sudden impact with the floor knocked the horniness right out of her while simultaneously pissing her off in the process. Just as Ruby finished pulling herself up off the floor, her hand rubbing the bump that had formed on her head, the door finished opening to reveal Citrine with her finger pointing in Ruby's direction.

"So, this is where you were Ruby." Came Pyrrha's voice from just outside the doorway. As her head popped in and caught sight of Jaune, whose tent had fallen flat the moment he heard the door's creaking. The once cheerful woman's eye's narrowed to judgmental slits and fell not on a flushed and injured Ruby but to her own little girl. Citrine merely bowed her head to her mother before quickly rushing out of the room and leaving the three adults.

"Good morning~" Pyrrha hummed, returning to her cheerful demeanor. "I'm sorry about Citrine. She has picked up a few . . . strange habits, but I hope she didn't hurt you Jaune. Ruby are you okay? It sounds like you hit your head hard while you were down there. Would you like any help undoing the knot?"

"The knot! Yes that, that's totally what I was doing. Umm please could you help." Ruby stammered out, her anger quickly being replaced by embarrassment and self-loathing for allowing herself to be so easily controlled by her desires, especially given the delicate situation they were in. Thank Oum Pyrrha had misunderstood what she was doing alone in a room with Jaune. The silver-eyed warrior kept her face hidden from view while she attempted to regain her composure, using untying Jaune as her excuse to avoid eye contact. But not a moment later the cries of Topaz, Ruby's own daughter, started to ring out from across the hall. Without needing to say a word Pyrrha stepped aside so Ruby could spring to her child's aid. She shot an apologetic glance towards the _still_ captive man as she sped out of the room.

With his attention now drawn to the red-haired beauty, he noticed that she too still wore her sleepwear, Jaune's old shirt. The golden rays of dawn that were still slowly creeping in from the cracks in the curtains reminded him that it was still the wee hours of the morning. Upon waking in a new place with her daughter missing, Pyrrha had of course been far more concerned with Citrine's location than her own attire. Seeing the outfit brought back memories from the previous night for Jaune as he did his best not to stare at the woman who was now crawling on all fours at his bedside looking for where the rope ends met.

"So uhh . . . Does Citrine do this often?" He asked, desperate to focus his attention elsewhere. Pyrrha had found the knot under the bed and was having some difficulty undoing it. Her butt was left wiggling in full view as the other half of her body was hidden under the bed. To make matters worse, her shirt had risen to reveal the red cotton hidden underneath and Jaune desperately needed that distraction.

"Knot tying was one of the skills she picked up from a nice huntress who often watched Citrine when I had to leave camp." It seemed that Pyrrha was too focused on the knot to realize her panties were now fully exposed and could be seen by the captive man, not that she'd mind.

"By the looks of it she has gotten pretty good at tying knots." Choked out Jaune as he watched the muscles in her legs move with her body while she struggled with the knot.

"No, it's just in a tangled mess down here." She replied, not sure if she had just made it worse or not.

". . . You can just cut it, you know. Or at least slide the rope down so I can crawl out."

"No no, I've . . . almost . . . got it!"

He could feel the ropes go slack, allowing him to finally free himself from his cloth prison. Making haste he quickly rolled out of bed, found a pair of pants and threw them on; partly to help hide the new bulge Pyrrha had unknowingly erected.

"Uhh Jaune . . ."

"Yes Pyrrha?"

"It's a little embarrassing to say but, could you help me please." The space under the bed, though large enough for a child, had proven quite tight for the adult Pyrrha to squeeze her way in.

"Help? How?"

"Jaune . . . I'm stuck. Can you help pull me out?" Now that her work was finished, she had found it difficult to back out. Reluctantly Jaune took hold of the woman's ankles, which gave him quite the view of her stunning rear.

"Are you ready Pyrrha?" Since he was doing his best to avert his eyes, he really did need that verbal cue.

"Yes, just . . . please be gentle." The woman couldn't help but giggle at the misleading line. Of course, her tease only caused him to roll his eyes with a smile adorning his own face before giving her a gentle tug. He certainly had missed her playful flirting, especially now that he could actually pick up on it. Unfortunately, after a few inches he received the call to stop.

"Jaune, I don't know how to say this," She embarrassedly admitted, "but I think my breasts are propping up my torso too high. I keep hitting the frame."

". . . What?" The mental image alone was enough to stop the poor man in his tracks and make him weak in the knees. Jaune knew they were big, but were they that big he wondered. Had they grown larger? Well having a baby did do that for most women, right? It certainly did for Ruby.

"Please don't make me say it again." She pleaded from under her wooden prison, bringing his attention back into reality.

"Wait, how did you get under there in the first place then?"

"Jaune!"

"Umm alright, give me a second. If I remove the mattress, then I can lift-"

"No no, I don't think you need to go that far. Just . . . uhh could you help me . . . adjust them?"

"What . . . ? I uhh . . . I don't think I heard you right."

"I can't reach. If I could just moves them around I think I could get low enough to slide out."

"Uhh I'll go get Ruby then so-"

"It's all right Jaune, I don't mind. Besides it's not like you haven't fondled them before."

"I'm not sure about this." Memories of their first few months of dating came rushing to the forefront of his mind. He couldn't help but wonder if he was always this much of a daydreamer.

"Look I don't mind if you want to check out my ass, yes I know that the shirt slid up, but I'd like to get out from under this bed. Now reach your hands under here and grab my breasts!" Pyrrha's mood was shifting from minorly to majorly annoyed.

Once again Jaune found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, well not so much a 'hard place' so much as a soft/ squishy place. Not being sure what was the correct action to take he just did what he had done before; left the decision up to his instincts and prayed for the best. As she embarrassingly waited for one of his hands to make contact with her pliable flesh, Pyrrha was beginning to lose the last of her patience when no hand appeared. Having received no response from the man following her little outburst, she was getting ready to scold him for his reluctance when she was stopped by the sound of his footsteps. He now stood over the trapped Huntress, his feet on either side of her torso. Jaune stared down at her defenseless figure before allowing his instincts to take over. Gathering up all of his pent-up lust, Jaune firmly placed his hands on their target and nearly effortlessly lifted the bed frame off the trapped scarlet beauty. The unexpected action resulted in a squeak of surprise escaping past her lips.

"Pyrrha, can you get out now?"

"Uhh yeah." Her response drenched in the surprise of her sudden freedom. Quickly she scooted her way out from under the bed and past the man's towering legs. The sound of Pyrrha returning to her feet gave Jaune his queue to relax his grip and place the piece of furniture back upon the floor.

Returning to an upright stance, the muscles under his shirt flexed and stretched at the cloth which clung to his body leaving little to the imagination. A brief glance was all it took to lock the two star crossed lovers into a trance. Their eyes had been hypnotized by the rise and fall of their partner's chest, the pulse of their neck, the pool of their eyes.

"Pyrrha . . . I uhh, I'm going to go take a shower! I'll see you down stairs!" The words rushed out of Jaune's mouth unexpectedly, and did not suppress his eagerness to get on with his day after the . . . 'eventful' morning.

"Uhh yeah, sure." She fumbled out as his figure flew towards the doorway leaving a shocked Pyrrha alone with her thoughts.

After his long and very 'very' cold shower, Jaune was now fully dressed and headed downstairs to join the now four most important women in his life for a very early morning breakfast. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten up before six without a 'Topaz alarm clock'. Thankfully the little girl liked to sleep in now, giving her parents a little more time to snooze most mornings. He wore his jeans and a black shirt. The shoulders of which were dotted with water droplets from his still drying hair as he walked down the stairs in his newest pair of Converse shoes. When he reached the last step of the staircase, he could hear the two adult women arguing about something from the other room.

"Waffles!"

"Pancakes."

"Waffles!"

"Pancakes are clearly the superior of the two breakfast items." Pyrrha's voice rang out. "They are simple, easy to make, and can even be made when traveling. Why is this a difficult concept for you to accept?"

"That's far too boring!" Ruby interjected. "Besides you are just choosing pancakes because Nora has you brainwashed. Too many years of Ren's pancakes have you taking their side. Waffles are WAY better than pancakes. They have freakn' syrup traps for crying out loud!"

"Morning, you two seem energetic." His voice had broken them out of their heated debate, steering their attention in his direction as he rounded the corner into the kitchen.

"Good morning ~! Losing a daughter will do that to you." Pyrrha joked. She was still wearing Jaune's old shirt, but was now clad in his robe too. No doubt picked up after he abandoned her in his room.

"Morning Jaune." Ruby followed up, a slight blush painting her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with him. She too still wore her sleep attire, but her pajama pants and tank top were in full view.

In addition to the two women, Citrine was sitting patiently at the kitchen table watching the back and forth as the rude woman argued with her mother. Topaz was nestled comfortable in Ruby's arms, the child's own little digits happily moving about.

"We are trying to decide what to have for breakfast. I think we should make pancakes, and Ruby-"

"And I say we make waffles~! We even have that fancy new waffle iron we never use from . . . that time, for that thing . . ." Ruby's words trailed off as she remembered that the waffle iron was a wedding gift from Yang.

"It's currently one to one, you're the deciding vote Jaune. Should we make pancakes like back in the day?"

"Or go for gold with delicious golden waffles?!" Ruby voiced enthusiastically enough for Topaz to join in with an unintelligible babble at her mother's infectious energy.

"Uhh . . . actually I like French toast." Jaune shyly admitted, the third option having brought silence to the room.

"Ugh really Jaune?" Disgust was nearly plastered all over Ruby's face.

"How disappointing." Followed Pyrrha, who's head slowly shook side to side. Citrine mirrored her mother's action and began shaking her head too. She also did her best to put on an equally disappointed face.

"I know, right? It's like I don't even know him anymore."

"Ruby, Pyrrha, please. It's too early for this. Do we even have the ingredients to make pancakes or waffles?"

As the five of them sat around the kitchen table, bowls of cereal sitting in front of four of them, Pyrrha was the first to break the awkward silence of the room. "This really is an impressive house, it reminds me a lot of our dorms back at Beacon, I think I even saw the same painting that was hanging in our room."

"It is the same." Jaune admitted through a mouth full of cereal very 'matter of fact-ly.

"What, really?" Pyrrha didn't expect her joke to backfire on her like that.

"Yeah, Yang grew attached to the one in our dorm." Chimed in Ruby as she wiped Topaz's mouth. "When she asked Ozpin if she could take it after we graduated, he let her. I think the same one was in all the rooms though. Talk about lazy decorating."

"Oh my, that is quite unexpected. I wouldn't think Ozpin would be that willing to give away school property."

"Yeah, I don't think he was supposed to do that." Jaune added while using his empty spoon to point in Pyrrha's direction. "I heard Glynda really tore him a new one once she found out he was just giving away stuff to a lot of students." His spoon flickered about imitating Glynda's riding crop.

The mental image of Ozpin dodging a furious Glynda as she tossed all manner of objects at him using her semblance brought the three into a nostalgic fit of laughter.

"That reminds me, when I was going around searching for Citrine earlier, I was a little surprised to see the choices in décor. Do forgive me, but if I didn't know better, I'd say this place was a staged home. I'm sorry, but it doesn't really feel lived in."

"No, no you don't need to apologize; you're not exactly wrong." Ruby started, now cleaning up spilt milk from the wild child's highchair. "Remember when I told you how Weiss gave us this house? It just didn't feel right to change anything. It still feels like this is Weiss' house and we are just guests, even if everyone has their own room. The whole place was fully furnished when we got here and no one had the kind of lien to waste on replacing the furniture. Besides no one is usually here for very long because of missions anyways, so nobody really wanted to bother with redecorating.

"Except Nora." Added Jaune. "We had to stop her from knocking down walls and covering the place in pink paint." The memory brought a smile to Ruby's face while draining the color from Jaune's. Certainly, trying to control an enthusiastic Nora was no easy task.

"Not even one picture of everyone though? I'm sure we took a few together when we graduated at least." With how long her friends had lived in the house, Pyrrha found it hard to believe that not even a single picture of anyone made its way onto any of the walls in the large building.

"Oh we've all got quite a few pictures." Jaune quickly reassured her. "We just keep them on our scrolls. I think Ren and Nora put a few pictures up in their rooms though."

"Yeah Blake's room has a picture of her family and a lot of book shelves. Yang still has posters hanging up in her room and a workbench for her arm. Sometimes I hear her tinkering with it late at night. I've even heard her and Blake cursing because of it before."

Pyrrha wanted to say something, but thought it best to bite her tongue. Lucky for her, Pyrrha's stomach rumbled loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Yeah, cereal isn't much of a breakfast." Admitted Ruby. "Let me see what else we have, BRB."

"Oh no, please don't trouble yourself Ruby. It has just been far too long since I've last eaten any processed food." The same could apply to Citrine who continued to stir the mysterious orbs around in her bowl. Granted she had never tasted anything like them and was a fair bit reluctant. "My body must not be used to it anymore."

"I think I read about that actually." It was Jaune's turn to clean up after Topaz now. "Something like when people rework their diet to eat healthier, but then they can't stand junk food that they used to love?"

"I do suppose that is one way to look at it."

This time a rumbling noise came from the small girl beside them who was having a hard time forcing the strange new food into her mouth. Still, she wasn't one to waist food.

"Citrine, you don't have to force yourself to eat it if you don't like it." Jaune's words did nothing more than confuse the young girl. How could anyone waist precious food? What a fool this man must be. But before her eyes could question her mother on the subject, another voice grabbed everyone's attention.

"Whelp, I guess we can't put off that trip to the grocery store any longer." Ruby had finished rummaging through their kitchen and found their food provisions were far below her standards. Not even one of her precious strawberries remained in the house. It had become increasingly hard to stock up once they learned that Topaz also loved the small red fruit.

"Oh why don't you take Pyrrha into town then." Chimed in Jaune as he cleared the table. "You could show her around and I'll give you both a break from the kids." His heart was in the right place, as it often was, but neither woman seemed too pleased with the suggestion.

"Jaune, perhaps you could show me around. You know, give us time to 'catch up' with each other." By now Pyrrha had gotten close enough to look up at him with those big, green, puppy dog eyes of hers. "Ruby, if you don't mind watching the kids of course."

"OH NO, of course not." Ruby's hand waved before her, dismissing the thought of being burdened. "Why would I, mind . . ."

"WONDERFUL! I'll go get ready and then we can take off~" But before Pyrrha could round the corner and dart up towards her room, Jaune's question stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Do you have something else to wear? Err I mean your combat outfit would be a little 'weird' for the grocery store. Did you bring any kind of casual clothes with you?"

Standing with her back to the kitchen, the room still only illuminated by the raising morning sun, Pyrrha stood shrouded in the darkness of the house. "I- we didn't bring much, just the essentials. We actually don't have much."

"What do you mean?" Questioned Ruby, Topaz now in her arms being burped.

I didn't bring much with me to begin with when I went on my mission, and Citrine only had hand-me-downs and scavenged clothes to begin with."

"You mean you never got her some proper clothes once you got to Vacuo?

"Given the situation, it wasn't high on my priority list."

"Okay that settles it!" Exclaimed the woman in the rose print pajamas as she handed off her daughter to Jaune.

"Settles what?"

"We are going shopping! We are going to get you both some nice, clean, fitting clothes."

"Thank you Ruby, but that's not really necessary."

"Shh shh shhhhhh. The poor girl is walking around in dirty rags Pyrrha." Ruby had covered the girl's ears so she couldn't hear the insulting words, Citrine merely tried to shake off her grip. "She at least needs some clean underwear. She is wearing underwear, right?"

"Ruby has a point, even if she could have worded it better." At this point Jaune was glaring at the woman for her rude, yet honest words. "Since you two will be staying here, you'll need daily necessities."

"Oh but I couldn't possibly trouble you two-"

"Pshh don't worry about it Pyrrha." Ruby dismissed, starting to get excited about a girl's day out, or any reason to get out of the house. Since Topaz was born, Ruby hadn't had much time or energy to get out and do anything. She was growing quite stir crazy and needed to stretch her legs.

"But I don't have much lien on me, so I wouldn't –"

"Don't worry about it, we've got you covered."

"Think of it as a 'welcome home' gift." Jaune said, returning Topaz back to her highchair and handing the toddler one of her toys.

"Thank you, but that's far too generous."

"Pyrrha please, Weiss lets us live here rent free. She also takes care of all the bills so we've got plenty of lien to spare by now."

"But . . . "

"Give it up Pyrrha. You can either go with Ruby or hope she doesn't get you anything weird. Hahaha"

"Gah, rude!" Ruby's hand flew to her chest in a playful manner to suggest she was hurt by Jaune's comment.

"Ha ha ha okay, okay I surrender. But can I make a slight suggestion?" Pyrrha said. Returning back to the table with her hands raised in defeat, she walked over and picked up one of the young girls. "Why don't we take Topaz with us Ruby? That way Jaune and Citrine can watch the house and spend some one on one time getting to know each other."

Author's notes:

Like I promised this chapter is shorter than the first; but wasn't that fun, isn't Citrine a cute scamp, who is really here for the babies? And most important question of all; Waffles or pancakes?! Leave your answer in the comments and I'll post the results next chapter lol. Let me know if there is anything you want to see in the story (Nora and Ren will show up and I have a fun idea for Yang but shush, secret.) and I'll see if I can work it in. Thanks for reading you lovely person you~


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